Advances in the Study of Black Carbon Effects on Climate

Black carbon (BC) aerosols can strongly absorb solar radiation in very broad spectra]wavebands,from the visible to the infrared.As a potential factor contributing to global warming,BC aerosols not only directly change the radiation balance of the earth-atmosphere system,but also indirectly affect global or regional climate by acting as cloud conden-sation nuclei or ice nuclei to alter cloud microphysica]properties.Here,recent progresses in the studies of radiative forcing due to BC and its climate effects are reviewed.The uncertainties in current researches are discussed and some suggestions are provided for future investigations.